Video: "Best Plants 2009 Video: 5S"

In this session at the 2009 IW Best Plants Conference, Alan Mauer, Sr. Project Engineer, Stryker Instruments delivers a straightforward look at what 5S was designed for, what its benefits are and how to use its tools for maximum effect. You see examples of 5S audit sheets, Visual Standards and Action Item maintenance. Mauer also discussed how "Plan Do Check Act" applies to 5S.

In This Presentation You Will Learn

• The Ys of 5S (in minute 5)

• Purpose, process and people (in minute 7)

• How to find your weakest link in a process chain (in minute 12)

• The 10/80/10 rule (in minute 14)

• How Stryker Instruments rolled out 5S (in minute 16)

• The 5S audit from Stryker and their scoring system (in minute 22)

• The 5S action plan list (in minute 36)

• and more

You can download the slides from this presentation.

Alan Mauer, Sr. Project Engineer, Stryker Instruments

Alan Mauer is a senior project engineer on the Continuous Improvement Team at Stryker Instruments in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Stryker is a global leader in the medical technology industry. Sales totaled 6 billion in 2007, which puts Stryker among the top 10 largest medtech companies in the world. Every year, for the last 30 years, Stryker has seen 20% growth. The Stryker Instruments division is responsible for instruments used by medical professionals including powered hand tools, hoods, gowns, and waste removal systems.

Mauer joined Stryker Instruments three years ago to implement a revised continuous improvement effort. The primary focus has been creating a new foundation and culture on which to build upon. A new facility was built with a layout that fosters visual product flow and continuous improvement.

Prior to coming to Stryker Instruments Mauer worked for 19 years at Steelcase, the leader in office furniture. In his various engineering roles there he was trained and involved in numerous improvement activities (Design for Manufacturing, World Class Manufacturing, Toyota Production System, ReEngineering, and Benchmarking).

Mauer is an "outside the box" thinker who can envision the future as well as implement it. He holds 3 product patents and is responsible for several proprietary manufacturing processes. He graduated from Michigan Technological University with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He has also had lean training through the University of Michigan and University of Kentucky.